Fifth Disease

posted Apr 20, 2017, 7:38 AM by Penny Zorn

Fifth Disease is a common
and harmless condition that afflicts young children. A child who has contracted Fifth Disease will
display a rash on his or her face that gives the appearance of a hand slap (a
more wide spread rash will appear a few days later). However, like chicken pox, the contagious
period for this disease is before the rash appears. Consequently, other children will have been
exposed prior to an outbreak being detected.
The outbreak can only be considered finished once 20 days have passed
with no further confirmed cases. While
the disease is relatively harmless, and in fact is not legally reportable
according to the Health Department, it can present some serious risks to the fetus
of a pregnant women infected with the disease. We have had a confirmed case of Fifth Disease this week.

For the safety of our staff and parent volunteers, please inform the school if your child should present the symptoms of Fifth disease.